E3 Wrapup
Well, sadly E3 is over but we were given a full on bukake of video game news. Here’s the break down of what the 2 bit guys are excited for, what we wish we saw, what surprised us and what sucked ass.
Disappointments:
Kinect: Watching the demonstration of Microsoft’s newly named Kinect was, how can I put this nicely, uninspiring. The awkwardly scripted demonstrations were incredibly cheesy and because everything came off like an infomercial it made it hard to believe that the stuff they were showing will actually work that smoothly. While we both think the concept and the tech behind Kinect is really cool and it could be the future of electronic controls, we’re still not sold on its use with games. The hurdling game reminded me of the power pad for NES (only now you can’t cheat and just hit the floor with your hands), if I want to pretend I’m driving I’d rather not stand up and if Brain ever saw his kid playing with a virtual animal, I think he would immediately throw his kid in the car and drive to the zoo. Also, I’m having hard time imagining how this will be incorporated into “real” games like FPS or Action Adventure. Everything we’ve seen thus far has required you to, more or less, stand in one spot. How would you move around in an FPS? Run in place? Or would you actually need a controller for movement? If so then what’s the point?
No Shows: The Last Guardian and Final Fantasy Versus. Two of our most anticipated games were no where to be seen at this years E3. Both companies might be waiting till Tokyo Game Show for a new reveal.
Nintendo 3DS: Ok, Ill admit I really want one. But I’m not sure why because they didn’t actually show us non-press folk any actual 3D! From what I’ve read and heard it seems to work well and the 3D adjuster works for everyone. I’d just like to see for myself.
What we’re excited for:
Thankfully there was a lot to be happy about this E3. All three platforms are set to deliver some AAA goodness this fall and early 2011.
Playstation Move: While Kinect left us a bit skeptical, Sony’s Move has me intrigued. The true 1 to 1 controls with the potential for actual use in games (SOCOM, Motion Fighter, Killzone 3, Sorcery, not just mini/party games) this may be the motion controller to buyt. I’m not 100% sold but it’s definitely on my radar.
Zelda: Skyward Sword: Even though the demonstation by Miyamoto seemed a bit buggy, (we can blame that on the stage setup) Zelda: Skyward Sword looks promising and it’s nice to see some more quality first party games from Nintendo.
Assassins Creed 2: Brotherhood: When I first saw AC2:Brotherhood I was pretty pumped. The idea of teaming up with Brain to sneak up and kill other players online sounds awesome. Unfortunately I watched some hands on video from G4 and the game looked a little rough around the edges. I’m not sure if it was because this was a demo, because the game is still in production, or because this is a online game, but it looks like the graphics and animations took a serious hit. I’ll wait for the final product to pass judgement.
Epic Mickey: This Wii exclusive had me excited just from the screenshots last year. We finally got a glimpse of what type of adventure Mickey will going on. Platforming, puzzle solving, manipulating the environment and enemies and it’s not Mario. All sounds good to me.
Dead Space 2: It’s funny how little attention Dead Space got when it first came out and now it’s a borderline cult classic. Dead Space 2 looks like it’s taking everything we loved about the first game and cranking it up to 11.
Halo Reach: The more I see of Halo: Reach, the more it looks like Halo 3. But I guess I’ll still play it.
Rage: From the Godfathers of First Person Shooters, id Software, comes another post apocalyptic/mad max-type world. The concept around it might not be original but this game looks a-mazing!
KillZone 3D: More explosions, Move support and THREEE-DEEEEEEE.
God Of War: Ghost of Sparta: More angry Kratos, more happy on my PSP.
Shank: Ultra violent, side scrolling, cartoony mayhem. This downloadable game from Klei Entertainment just looks damn fun.
Marvel Vs Capcom 3: While I’ve never been into the previous games, this might be my chance to give it a shot. From what we saw the game looks as crazy and action packed as its predecessors. And Brain’s pants just got tighter.
Rock Band 3: OK, I actually just sold ALL of my Guitar Hero stuff and I thought I was done with Music Games. But Rock Band 3 has a real guitar! Real like the $600 one I have sitting in my game room that I never learned how to play. But with this one, I can play video games… and it might actually teach me how to play. We’ll see what the price point is but I’m already thinking of doing some kind of documentary about learning how to play guitar from a video game. That should really piss off all the elitist musicians out there.
Fable 3: Ok, I’m not really excited for this but I always end up playing Fable and it always gets crushed under the weight of goofy voice acting and poor story telling. But I’m still hoping for the best.
Gears of War 3: I absolutely loved the Horde mode in Gears 2 so the new Beast mode, where you can play as the enemies, looks like a lot of fun.
Tron: Possible Move support, 3D and it it’s TRON.
FFXIV and DC Online: We’re both still hesitant to jump into the world of MMOs but going on adventures with your friends or becoming your very own super hero or villain makes these two geeks happy.
MGS Rising: Lighting bolt action and now precise slicing and dicing! The animation looks a little clunky at this point but the crazy cut-anything sword play might make up for it.
So that’s it. What excited you? What are you looking forward to?
